I SAID before a ball was kicked that I thought Manchester City would win the Barclays Premier League this season … and I am standing by that prediction.

With the quality of squad that City manager Manuel Pellegrini has at his disposal they should edge it.

But I am sure that both Arsenal, who are currently top of the table, and Liverpool, who are just three points adrift, will still be there or thereabouts.

And it would be foolish to rule Manchester United out despite the disappointing first half of the season they have had.

I saw a poll of 10 former players and pundits recently. None of them expected Arsenal or Liverpool to win the Premier League.

But I would not be surprised if they were in the mix come the end of the 2013/14 campaign.

They are both playing very good football and have great players in their ranks.

Yes, Liverpool lost 2-1 to City away on Boxing Day, but they were missing three or four key players.

And Brendan Rodgers' side still performed well in the meeting at the Etihad Stadium.

So you can't rule them or Arsene Wenger's side out of the race for the English title.

Nor do I think that United, who are eight points adrift after their 3-2 win over Hull City away, can be completely discounted.

Yes, they have not been convincing under Davie Moyes domestically this term.

But they were 2-0 down early on at the KC Stadium this week and they came back. That, for me, was like the Manchester United of old.

The games United have against the top clubs will be massive. I would expect them to be up there with Arsenal, Chelsea, City and Liverpool come May.

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